The name Ash Grove first appeared when a post office by that name was established in the area in 1849. Joseph Kimbrough built a store not far from the post office in 1853, and the place was called Kimbrough after the storeowner. A blacksmith shop was added soon afterwards, but Kimbrough consisted of little more than the store and the blacksmith shop until after the Civil War.
After the war ended, the post office was moved to Kimbrough, and the town took the name of the post office. Ash Grove grew slowly but steadily over the next several years, and it was incorporated in 1871. After a railroad reached Ash Grove in 1878, the town's growth accelerated, and by 1880, its population stood at about 500. Ten years later, the population had almost tripled.
By the time a Springfield newspaperman visited Ash Grove in 1912, its population had dwindled slightly to a little over 1,000. It was still a booming little town, though, with "good churches, schools, many excellent homes and very much of which to be justly proud." Its businesses included a newspaper (the "Commonwealth"), a milling plant, two banking institutions, a creamery, a poultry business, a hardware and farm implement company, a lumber company, and a theater where both motion pictures and vaudeville productions were presented. It also had several general stores.
Ash Grove's population stayed steady throughout most of the 1900s at around 1,000 people. During the past few decades, it has grown modestly and now boasts a population of slightly over 1,500, which represents a peak.
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